Research Document - 2000/019
Assessment of Cod in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, February 2000.
By G.A. Chouinard, L. Currie, A. Sinclair, and G. Poirier
Abstract
The directed cod fishery in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence was closed in September 1993. In 1999, a limited commercial fishery of 4T-Vn(N-A) cod was opened with a total allowable catch (TAC) of 6,000 tonnes. This was apportioned among cod-directed, by-catch, sentinel and recreational fisheries. Total landings amounted to 5,878 tonnes. Population abundance in the 1999 annual research vessel survey indicated an increase compared to recent years. Natural mortality (M) appears to be declining, but remains at approximately 0.4, the same since 1986. The stock assessment indicates population biomass remains low, similar to the mid-1970s, and close to the lowest seen since 1950. The spawning stock biomass is estimated at 89,000 t, similar to recent years. Recruitment has been well below the historical average over the last decade, however the 1995 to 1997 year classes are estimated to be more abundant than those produced in the early 1990s. Assuming continued high mortality, catch projections indicate the spawning stock biomass may increase by 10% with no fishing in 2000. There would be a 5% spawning stock biomass increase if the TAC in 2000 remains at the 1999 level of 6,000 t. Catches of 6,000 t or lower in 2000 would result in a probability of stock decline of about 1% or less.
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